The U.S. and NATO must act faster to help Ukraine win the war against Russia. Especially now, as Russian dictator Vladimir Putin believes he will win due to Kyiv's lack of missile interceptors. Steve Forbes, chairman and editor-in-chief of Forbes Media, wrote this in his column. "The U.S. and NATO allies can and must stop this impending disaster," he emphasized. Forbes reminded that despite the increase in Russian airstrikes, Ukraine has received only one-third of interceptors this year compared to the same period in 2025. He noted that the Patriot systems, which reliably shoot down Russian ballistic missiles, are experiencing a shortage of interceptors. The Ukrainian fleet of F-16s consists of only 39 aircraft instead of the promised 79, and it is forced to spend flight hours intercepting Shaheds, which should be shot down by ground systems. Amid all this, as Forbes emphasized, Russia is adapting. Its Shahed drones now fly too fast, and many Ukrainian intercepting drones cannot keep up with them. Moreover, the Russians are quickly ramping up the production of ballistic and cruise missiles. ## ## The Kremlin Has Two Goals "Moscow has two main goals: to launch more ballistic missiles at Ukrainian targets to undermine Kyiv's ability to produce its own ballistic missiles; to strike at Ukraine's energy infrastructure to deprive the country of heating and electricity ahead of winter. Hospitals, railways, schools, and commercial enterprises are also targets. Putin believes that such mass deprivation will break Ukraine's will to fight and prepare it for capitulation to the Kremlin," wrote the editor-in-chief of the publication. ## ## What the U.S. Should Do In this regard, Forbes emphasized that the U.S. must immediately prioritize the supply of interceptors and accelerate the production of Patriot missiles for Ukraine. "At the same time, it is urgent to increase the overall production volume," he added. Forbes reminded that U.S. President Donald Trump promised Ukraine a license to produce Patriot missile systems and their missiles, but then he reneged on his promise. "The president must keep his promise and allow Ukraine to produce interceptors domestically, rather than relying entirely on foreign supplies," Forbes believes. Additionally, as he noted, Washington must immediately transfer 50 or even more F-16 fighters to Ukraine for protection against Russian missile strikes in winter: "This should be easy. The U.S. has over 800 F-16 fighters. NATO should also provide 30 or more such aircraft from its stocks." ## ## What Europe Should Do Besides F-16 fighters, European countries such as Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, and Germany should transfer some of their stocks of other missile systems to Ukraine. "Europe must also finance a $70 billion aid package requested by Kyiv for 2026. Coordinated and predictable funding is as important as the equipment itself," emphasized the editor-in-chief of the publication. Forbes stated that the reduction in fighter supplies, along with the increase in Russian air attacks, will severely impact the civilian population of Ukraine this winter. "Effective action is needed now. What American isolationists and the pro-Putin chorus do not understand is that Ukraine's defense is ultimately our defense," Forbes concluded. As reported by UNIAN, the U.S. is providing Ukraine only intelligence data for free. This is happening only because it is used for strikes on Russian oil refineries, which plays into Washington's hands. In particular, it helps the U.S. influence China and India. On August 8, military analyst Dmitry Snegirev stated that Ukraine will never produce PAC-3 missiles for the Patriot system. Even with the transfer of licenses, these missiles will be assembled in Germany.